DeMarcus Cousins vents on George Karl situation after Kings’ win

DeMarcus Cousins is congratulated by Ray McCallum (3) and Nik Stauskas (10) after making a 19-foot jumper at the buzzer to beat Phoenix.
Hector Amezcua
hamezcua@sacbee.com

DeMarcus Cousins is congratulated by Ray McCallum (3) and Nik Stauskas (10) after making a 19-foot jumper at the buzzer to beat Phoenix.
Hector Amezcua
hamezcua@sacbee.com

To understand DeMarcus Cousins’ frustration is to understand all that he hasn’t said for nearly two months.

As the Kings continue to negotiate with George Karl to become their coach, Cousins finds himself being blamed for Karl not already being hired. Some within the organization believe Cousins’ ability to get along with Karl is the holdup, but some in the Kings’ front office have reservations about Karl and have communicated those concerns to Cousins.

A deal could be reached soon. Meanwhile, Cousins is frustrated.

So after hitting a shot at the buzzer to beat the Phoenix Suns 85-83 Sunday night at Sleep Train Arena, the All-Star center was noticeably agitated and gave an impromptu rant.

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“I ain’t pumped up. I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” he said. “The crazy thing about it is, I’ve just got a question for y’all: How you gonna stop God’s plan? How you gonna do that? How you gonna do that? That’s all I want to know. How you gonna stop God’s plan?”

Why would Cousins be upset?

Though he vehemently disagreed with coach Michael Malone’s firing, Cousins has been the leading voice publicly to say the players need to be behind Malone’s replacement, Tyrone Corbin.

So Cousins is livid to hear he’s allegedly the reason the Kings have not agreed to terms with Karl.

Trust and loyalty are important to Cousins, and it’s hard not to see how those values have been violated in his eyes. Cousins did not put the Kings in position to have to match an offer sheet last summer by agreeing to a four-year contract extension in September 2013.

And if a deal isn’t reached with Karl, many will blame Cousins and his agents.

That’s ironic, considering Malone was fired against Cousins’ wishes. So the center has a hard time understanding how he or his agents are dictating who coaches the Kings.

“This city done put me through so much, and I’ve stayed loyal to it the whole time,” Cousins said. “I just wanna know how you gonna stop God’s plan? God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. The marathon continues. I’m out.”

Cousins then exited the locker room.

General manager Pete D’Alessandro met with Karl in Denver last week while the Kings were playing some of their worst basketball of the season. D’Alessandro was at Sunday’s game to participate in the presentation of Cousins’ All-Star jersey.

Though he is one of only six coaches in NBA history with 1,000 victories, Karl has had issues with players, most recently star Carmelo Anthony in Denver.

There was concern as to whether Karl would mesh with Cousins, so much so the Kings did not make a serious play for Karl when Malone was fired Dec. 14. They already had upset Cousins and his teammates by firing Malone, so there was reluctance to create another reason to upset the center.

There are many voices weighing in on Karl with varying degrees of support or resistance to the move. But at this stage, D’Alessandro appears resolute to reach a deal with Karl.

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